Sparklingsitting
by Lunar Mist
Summary: This is a side story from "Through a Cybercat's Optics". Optimus prime didn't expect sparkling-sitting to be difficult. Besides, it wasn't like he was going to be using skills like these in his future as Prime.
1. Chapter 1

Okay, peeps. Lots of y'all were wanting me to write a one-shot on Optimus's sparkling-sitting experience, so here it is. Here's the deal, though.: I couldn't figure out how to make it flow as a one-shot, so I decided I would split it into four parts: Arrival, playtime, feeding/naptime, and pickup. I do not expect these to be long at all, just something to write during writer's block, but hey, they're something to read, right? Thanks for reading it, and I hope you enjoy. :)

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><p>Part 1<p>

The Arrival

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><p>'<em>This has to be a joke.'<em>

This was the single thought of Orion Pax as he stared into the room of organized chaos before him. His mentor chuckled as he patted the future Prime on his helm. Sentinel Prime had been instructing young Orion on how to run Cybertron should anything happen to the currently reigning prime. Sentinel had commented more than once on the strange likeness running a planet had to running a daycare. Orion had only stared at him in confusion. Running a planet held much more prestige than running a daycare. Why would Sentinel even _think_ about comparing the two. That was when Orion had made his mistake.

"_If running Cybertron is like running a daycare, then it must not be too difficult."_

Sentinel had immediately scolded Orion on making assumptions on two things he had never experienced and knew next to nothing about. Then the colossal red mech had decided that perhaps sparkling-sitting would give Orion some good training on caring for specific needs of specific beings. After all, different city-states needed different things depending on their global placement and terrain. Vosian buildings needed harder metal than Iaconian buildings because Vosian buildings doubled as landing spots and perching spots for Seekers. Working at the local daycare could help Orion's comprehension of that fact.

Hence their presence at the daycare center.

"Once again, Sentinel Prime, sir," the brown-nosing daycare runner said in a lofty voice, "there is no way we could possibly express the honor you have given us in allowing us to teach your ward how to care for sparklings." Orion resisted the urge to glare at the navy blue mech. Glaring at subjects was frowned upon.

"Of course, Freeplay. Orion has been looking forward to this all orn, have you not, mechling?" Sentinel said cheerfully. Orion sent him a withering look, then turned his attention back to the room before him. The door was cut in half horizontally, and the top half of the door was open. It was the first time in a long time that Orion had seen a door that actually swung open, rather than sliding open. The weird door had a _knob_ instead of a keypad. How utterly low-tech. If _this_ was the outside, Orion shuddered when he thought of what awaited him past this pathetic excuse for a door.

"Are you… sure about this… sir?" Orion asked hesitantly, looking up at his mentor with a pleading expression.

"Yes, my ward. You will need the experience."

"But I don't – do not –" he corrected at Sentinel's scowl. A prime did _not_ use contractions like common work bots. "– know anything about sparklings."

"You will have assistance, and you will learn," Sentinel promised. Orion gave him a reluctant and worried look, causing Sentinel to chuckle."Come, my ward. Do not think of it as a death sentence. Treat it as a new adventure."

"I think I would rather take on the Senate," Orion mumbled as Sentinel turned the ridiculous knob on the bottom door. "At least they have some semblance to logic." The door opened, and a shout rose from the room.

"No! Catch him!" a female voice cried.

"Get back here, you little slagger!" a familiar male voice snarled. Orion's optics ridges rose as he stared at his younger brother, a mechling that he hadn't seen since they were sparklings, as he chased an alarmingly fast red sparkling. The sparkling cheered as it rushed past Sentinel's pedes, expertly avoiding the red prime's servos as it rushed toward freedom. Orion smiled as he bent down and neatly plucked the sparkling up by its scruff bar as it moved past. The sparkling gave a furious buzz and stuck its glossa out at the red and blue mechling as it was cradled close to the future prime's chassis.

"Now, now, young one. It is far safer in here than it is out there," Orion claimed. He moved into the room and closed the door behind him before setting the angry sparkling on the ground by his pedes. The sparkling gave another irate buzz before speed-crawling over to a yellow sparkling that looked identical to it.

"I see you've met our local escape artist, Sideswipe," that female voice said on a chuckle. Orion grinned as he stood and looked at the owner of the voice.

And froze.

She. Was. _Beautiful!_ Pink armor was spread over sleek curves and accented angelic baby blue optics. Her musical, angelic voice carried over to him, though he couldn't decipher the words. That is, until Sentinel's servo connected with the back of his helm.

"Ow!" Orion snapped, glaring at his mentor as he was unable to decide if he should be more embarrassed by said mentor smacking him or by the fact that he had been staring rather owlishly at the femme youngling before him.

"Sorry, child. I was worried your optics were going to fall out," Sentinel said, unrepentant. Orion felt his ego take another hit as his cheek plates flushed blue and his cooling fans flick on in embarrassment. His brother's snickering didn't help the situation, either. "This is Elita," Sentinel introduced.

"H-hi," Orion greeted, cursing his stutter as he strengthened his spark signal in greeting. Elita smile, causing aforementioned spark shutter in its casing.

"Hello, future Prime of Cybertron," she replied, bowing at the waist. Orion frowned.

"There's –" Another smack from Sentinel. "– There _is_ no need to bow to me. I am not prime yet. My name is Orion. Orion Pax."

"Okay… Orion," Elita replied as she straightened. His name on her lip components made a shiver run down his main support strut. His attention was grabbed by a low snort of amusement.

"And why are you and Soundwave here, Megatron?" Sentinel asked neutrally. Megatron scowled as he attempted to shake a recently attached seeklet off his foot.

"Punishment. Killswitch is torque because I snuck into a meeting."

"Sneaked," Orion corrected automatically. Megatron sent him a scathing glare.

"Grammar doesn't matter, you science twit," he snapped. "Neither do sparklings, the little monsters."

"Maybe if you took time to learn how to care for them and decipher their feelings, you'd actually understand them, and you might even start liking them," a blue femme youngling retorted as she appeared from the kitchen area with a blue seeklet and a black and purple seeklet on her shoulders. She grimaced a little when she bent down to grab the sparkling attached to Megatron's foot. "You're the only flier here, so of course the trine is obsessed with you! Now stop shaking Starscream!" she snapped as she lifted the red, white, and blue seeklet into her hands. She fought another grimace as she stood. The two seeklets on her shoulders would clamp their claws under her armor every time she moved, and the feeling was quite uncomfortable. She remedied this by placing the seeklet's on Megatron's wings, one by one.

"Slaggit, femme! What are you doing!" he demanded. The seeklets clamped down on the wings they were perched on with the blunted claws on their servos and pedes.

"The name's Chromia, and if you swear in here again, I _will_ call my betrothed to offline you!" the blue femme snapped. Orion frowned. Betrothal was a rather barbaric idea to him. Auctioning your femme creation off to the richest family? It made him shudder.

"Orion, I must depart. Do your job well, and I will not make you come again." Orion looked up at his guardian as he left. The second the door opened, a red blur rushed toward it, only to be recaptured by the young future prime.

"Sorry, Sideswipe, but you may not leave," Pax said sadly as his mentor closed the bottom door and disappeared. The red sparkling whistled angrily and retreated once again to his yellow twin once he was released. "Now, what exactly does this job entail?" Orion asked as he straightened.

"Jeez. Are you _always_ this formal?" Chromia asked with wide optics.

"Of course," Orion replied with a frown. "A prime is the face of his planet. His words must reflect his wisdom and knowledge, and his expressions must be controlled. A sloppy prime means a sloppy Cybertron."

Silence. Orion honestly couldn't understand these younglings' confusion. He had been taught since the very beginning of his younglinghood that his words and expressions reflected not only his mentor, but all of Cybertron. The last thing he wanted was to be metaphorically dressed down by the Senate. The silence was broken first by the curious clicks of the three seeklets, then Elita spoke up.

"Uhhm… Did Sentinel make you memorize that?" she asked hesitantly.

"Statement: logical," Soundwave suddenly stated in his monotone voice. Every bot in the room jolted slightly.

"Primus slaaaaaps," Megatron snapped, changing his last word when Chromia sent him a dark glare. "Don't _do_ that!"

"Apology offered," Soundwave replied. Megatron scoffed.

"Warriors don't apologize," he retorted. Soundwave nodded sagely at Megatron's statement.

"So… what is our job?" Orion repeated, wondering if this was how Sentinel felt during his meetings with the Senate. They often had trouble staying on topic, if the scribe's meeting script was anything to go by.

"Just watch them and keep them entertained," Elita said with a shrug. Orion nodded.

"If that's all, then this really shouldn't be too difficult."

When would he learn?

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><p>For those of you who are wondering who all will be in this fic, here's my list.<p>

**Sparkling or youngling name: **Age group - _Adult who is picking them up_

**Orion Pax, future Prime of Cybertron:** Youngling –_ Sentinel Prime, reigning Prime of Cybertron_

**Megatron, future Lord Protectorate of Cybertron:** Youngling – _Killswitch, reigning High Lord Protectorate of Cybertron_

**Soundwave, future bodyguard of Megatron:** youngling – _Killswitch, reigning High Lord Protectorate of Cybertron_

**Elita: **Youngling – _Beta (Yeah, I know it's a stretch, but whatever, right?)_

**Chromia: **Youngling –_ Ironhide, Second in Command and bodyguard to Killswitch_

**Starscream, visiting Prince of Vos: **Sparkling – _Jetfire_

**Skywarp, member of future Vosian Royal Command Trine:** Sparkling – _Jetfire_

**Thundercracker, member of future Vosian Royal Command Trine: **Sparkling – _Jetfire_

**Jazz:** Sparkling – _Hound_

**Prowl: **Sparkling – _Hound_

**Bluestreak: **Sparkling –_ Nightbeat_

**Sideswipe:** Sparkling –_ Ratchet_

**Sunstreaker: **Sparkling - _Ratchet_


	2. Chapter 2

What's this? Lunar Mist actually updating something that's not _Through a Cybercat's Optics?_ The world has tilted on its axis! Well, it ain't long, and we have a short cameo... Enjoy the fluff, the angst, and all that jazz. :)

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><p>Part 2<p>

Playtime 0.o

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><p>It was chaos. Complete pandemonium. Sparklings rushed around, making messes and typically destroying things. Orion rushed over and grabbed a little door-winger by the name of Bluestreak before he could jump off a shelf. Bluestreak squalled happily when Orion turned him around and tackled the blue and red mech's faceplates, twittering happily as he did. Orion let out a startled yelp as he attempted to pry the mechling's surprisingly strong hands from around his faceplates. Bluestreak seemed to think it was a game and continued to twitter and chirp joyfully as he tightened his grip.<p>

"Megatron! Help!" Orion cried out.

"Fix it yourself! I got my own problems!" Megatron snapped. The future protectorate was bouncing around on one pede as he shook the other one violently. Starscream, the leader of the seeklet trine, found Megatron's foot highly fascinating for some reason or another. The black seeklet, whom Orion now knew was named Skywarp, found it hilarious to cover Megatron's optics, while Thundercracker, the third seeklet of the trine, purposefully slid around on Megatron's shoulder to keep the mech's hands busy.

"Primus, you two are terrible with sparklings," Chromia muttered as she moved to Orion's side.

"I think Orion is doing splendidly. Nobot ever deals with Bluestreak this easily," Elita contradicted. Orion's spark melted at the compliment. She said he was doing a splendid job! He stilled his hands and started rubbing Bluestreak's doorwing. Maybe it would… a-ha. Bluestreak let out a loud purr, and his hands released Orion's face. The prime-to-be grinned as he held Bluestreak close to his chassis, still rubbing the mechlet's winglets. Bluestreak's optics were offline as he purred in utter bliss.

"Oh, you two are so _cute_ together!" Elita chirped. Orion's cheek plating lit up blue. She called him _cute_!

"These little pit spawns are _anything_ but cute!" Megatron snapped. "Soundwave, get this monster off my helm!"

"Order: acknowledged. Complying." With that, the navy blue mech moved to Megatron's side. Following Orion's example, Soundwave gently rubbed Skywarp's winglet. Skywarp gave a squeak of joy, released Megatron's face, and tackled Soundwave's. Soundwave stumbled backwards in shock. Skywarp giggled madly at the movement. "Megatron: assistance requested."

"Fix your own problems! I got two of my own!" Megatron snapped angrily.

"You two are so immature," Elita said with an optic roll as she picked up a small black and white sparkling that had been following her around. The sparkling cuddled into her grip, peering over at Orion with a strangely observant stare. "This is Prowl. Prowl, this is Orion," she introduced.

"Grah-nuh-wabbubby!" a small voice squealed.

"Yeah, I know, Jazz," Chromia said flatly to the sparkling that was cuddled into her shoulder, chewing on the tire that was settled there. Jazz released the tire for a klik, let out a delighted squeal, then continued chewing on the tire.

"Is it okay for him to chew on that?" Orion asked hesitantly. Bluestreak squeaked at his voice and started twittering to him again. Chromia sent him a grin.

"Probably not. He chews on everything, though, and at least I know where my tire has been," she replied. Orion nodded hesitantly.

"Strange," he muttered, turning his attention back to the mechling in his arms.

"Oh, every one of them has something strange about them," Chromia stated. "Jazz here likes to chew on things. Blue likes to talk. Prowl has an advanced logic center. He can understand everything we say, and he's much smarter than a normal sparkling."

"Wow," Orion muttered, looking at the sparkling in Elita's arm in a new light. Prowl gave him a single squeak in greeting.

"Yeah. Skywarp over there can warp, Starscream has a strange obsession with pedes, and Thundercracker can, well, produce a sonic boom. We discourage that."

"I see. And the other… two," Orion prodded, looking around for the two sparklings that seem to have just disappeared. Chromia grimaced.

"Oh. Sunstreaker and Sideswipe. Well, they're split spark twins, and they are very good at manipulating the bots around them to get energon goodies and the like." There was a muted _"vop"_ noise, and Orion jumped in surprise when a sparkling body bounced off his helm. He acted quickly to catch the seeklet that had rolled off the front of his helmet, and he cuddled the black and violet seeklet to his chassis beside Bluestreak. Bluestreak looked over at Skywarp warily. Skywarp stared back at him, then suddenly tackled him with a delighted, "Gah-vaaahhh!" Bluestreak let out a terrified squeal as he attempted to escape Skywarp's energetic embrace.

"Soundwave, you and Megs were in charge of the seeklets! Stop slacking!" Elita snapped as her fingers rubbed Skywarp's winglet. She completely missed Soundwave's wince as she yelled at him from a distance, despite his new task of capturing Thundercracker before the mechlet slid off Megatron's shoulders. Skywarp gave a happy warble at the feeling of Elita's gentle fingers on his winglets and released Bluestreak to launch himself at the rose-hued femme. Prowl's engine gave an angry rev when Elita caught the seeklet, and the intelligent sparkling quickly situated himself over Elita's spark, wanting to hear the soothing sound without the interruption of the obnoxious seeker sparkling. Skywarp twittered joyfully as he nuzzled his helm against Elita's shoulder. On instinct, he shuffled closer to her spark, only to be stopped by a growling doorwinger. Sensory panels stood rigidly, twitching minutely as they took in information. Skywarp gave a coo of confusion as he attempted to shimmy into Prowl's spot. The logical sparkling was having none of that. Without hesitation, he landed a sound smack on the seeklet's developing wings, knowing from experience that wings were points of sensory crossings. His attempt to defend his spot was successful as Skywarp let out a pained howl before breaking into sobs. Elita gasped before setting an unrepentant Prowl with a stern look.

"No, sir! We do not _hit_ other mechlings!" she chastised. Prowl gave her a look that all but questioned her sanity. "We don't," she reasserted. "Orion, take Prowl for me." Orion was quick to obey. Prowl whined and whimpered as he was switched over to Orion's arms.

"Now don't start that, Prowl. We lose privileges when we do things wrong," Orion chided, settling the intelligent door-winger beside the more average door-winger. Bluestreak chirped at Prowl, and Prowl replied with a low buzz. Blue cocked his helm at this, obviously confused by the black and white sparkling's response. He gave another squeak, this one sounding confused. Prowl sent the sparkling a sarcastic look before settling down against Orion's chassis with a huff of defeat.

There was a mild sense of peace for a few kliks. Prowl and Bluestreak were content to cuddle up and share the sound of Pax's spark, though Bluestreak saw fit to squeak and chatter to Orion as he did so. Prowl, for his part, was silent, carefully listening to the thrum of Orion's spark. Skywarp had settled down in Elita's grasp, nuzzling his helm affectionately over her spark, something that all seeklets tended to do to show their affection. Thundercracker was resting calmly on Soundwave's shoulder, being entertained by the soft prerecorded music coming from the mech's speakers. Megatron had taken a seat in a rocking chair with his left ankle crossing over his right knee and had come to grips with the fact that Starscream simply was _not_ going to release his ped. As such, Starscream was lying on his stomach on Megatron's left ped, chewing on the side of his foot, despite the fact that said foot was bouncing slightly as he tapped his other foot to the gentle, yet steady beat coming from Soundwave's speakers. Jazz was cradled in Chromia's arms, having moved on from chewing on her tire to chewing on her fingers. In all, it was peaceful, and Orion found himself thinking that he wouldn't mind having a sparkling of his own someday.

Then it happened.

The little red twin gave a loud battle cry, and Orion turned his head to see the horror that was unfolding. Sideswipe and Sunstreaker had spent that last few breems to move things over to the door, creating an impromptu staircase. Even though said staircase didn't reach the top of the door, the twins had made do. Sunstreaker had clumsily lifted his sparkling twin up, and Sideswipe was about to jump off the door to freedom. If he survived the fall.

"Slag!" Orion cried at the same time that Chromia and Elita did. All three of them dashed to the door with a combined cry of, "SIDESWIPE, NO!" Sideswipe gave a delighted squeal as he leapt from the partitioned door.

Only to be caught on the other side.

"Whoa there, runt. That's not a very good idea," the mech stated evenly. Orion slowed in his dash and frowned at the stranger. He looked to be middle-aged – at least one generation younger than Sentinel Prime and Alpha Trion – and his frame was huge, easily taking up the door, even if he was a bit short. Huge cannons were situated on his forearms, and his facial plating was dotted by scars. Orion's optics met with ice blue ones, and he fought back a cringe as he approached the door after Elita, who had snatched up a protesting Sunstreaker by the scruff bar, and Chromia, who was gently lifting Sideswipe from the stranger's servos.

"Well, well, well. Fancy seeing a mech like you here," Chromia hummed with a pleasant smile on her faceplates. The mech gave her a smirk as his optics moved from Orion to her.

"Came to check on the two miscreants," he stated.

"Stop calling me that!" Megatron snapped. The black mech rolled his optics, and Megatron was ignored.

"Greetings, Elita-One. I hope your cycle has been pleasant."

"Yes, Ironhide. It's been lovely, actually," Elita said agreeably.

"I see you have a new face in here, too. I know Megatron's here because he slagged off Killswitch. So what's the future prime here for?" the mech now designated Ironhide questioned, fixing Orion with another calculating look. The two femmes frowned.

"Why _are_ you here, Orion?" Elita asked. Orion shrugged.

"I made a flippant statement to Sentinel," Orion said. "It will not happen again."

"Back to the formalities," Megatron mumbled. Orion scowled at his younger brother.

"Perhaps you do not desire to sound intelligent, but I _do_," he stated curtly. Megatron rolled his optics and stood up. Starscream gave a surprised squeak and latched onto the top of Megatron's foot as the older youngling moved to stand beside Orion.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," the future protectorate said as he walked. "Gotta keep up that 'I'm a super smart mech' act for your loyal subjects, right?"

"Well, as I see it, it is far better to prove your intelligence to the world than simply broadcasting how much of an uncaring idiot you are," Orion snapped pointedly. Megatron scowled as Ironhide started laughing.

"You wanna say that to my face?" Megatron snarled, claws clenching into fists. Orion gave him a pitying look.

"I was taught that a mech that settles arguments with his fists simply is not intelligent enough to settle them with his words. Tell me, Megatron; how often do you attempt to talk out a problem before you start clawing at somebot's faceplates?"

"Why I outta!"

"Don't start, or I'll have Ironhide separate you," Chromia threatened. Orion and Megatron looked over at said mech, then it clicked for a certain red and blue bot.

"Wait. You said earlier that you would have your betrothed attack Megatron… is this…?" Orion trailed off, not really knowing if what he was asking was polite or not. Chromia didn't seem to act as if it was, though. She grinned as she leaned back on the door as she faced Orion, allowing the large black mech to wrap his arms around her, though he had to lean over the door a bit.

"Yup. This is my soon-to-be mate, Ironhide," she said, sending him a happy look over her shoulder. The black mech took the opportunity to peck her on the lips.

"Gross," Megatron mumbled. "Soundwave, if I ever act like that over a femme, you have my permission to mercifully kill me," he declared to his future bodyguard.

"Implied command: noted."

"Are you going to stay, my love?" Chromia asked, turning to face him again. Ironhide frowned and leaned forward to press his forehelm to hers.

"I'm afraid not. Killswitch sent me on an errand and told me to stop by here on the way back to make sure Megatron hadn't accidentally or purposefully killed somebot. I will be by to pick those two up later, though," he promised. He glanced down at the red twin that was biting her hand, despite the fact that his dentas were not yet hardened enough to cause pain. "Keep an optic on them," he advised, tapping the mechling on the helm. The little mech gave a growl and attempted to bite Ironhide's finger as well. The battle-scarred mech grimaced. "Yeah, a close optic."

"Don't insult me. I don't make the same mistakes twice," Chromia replied with an optic roll.

"Very well. Goodbye, Elita, Chromia," he said giving both a smile. "Farewell, Future Prime. It has been my honor meeting you. Your mentor will hear of your pleasant attitude and speaking skills," Ironhide stated, respectfully bowing his helm to the younger mech. Orion fought back a grin at that and acknowledged the bow with a slight nod.

"Hey! What about me! He slaggin' insulted me!" Megatron protested.

"Perhaps you won't try to demean him any further then to save yourself the embarrassment," Ironhide retorted. He gave the room a single sweep and grimaced at the mess. "I'm glad I work with cannons and not sparklings. Not as messy." He gave Chromia a kiss on the forehelm, and after extricating his finger from the determined sparkling's mouthplates, he turned and strode away. Elita and Chromia watched him walk until he turned the corner at which time both femmes gave a dreamy sigh.

"He's so sweet," Chromia murmured.

"And so rugged," Elita agreed with a smile.

"And so handsome," Chromia said dreamily.

"And so mysterious and battle-worn. You'll never feel vulnerable when walking down a dark street with him at your side. Imagine what it must be like to have a mech that strong by your side," Elita gushed to her friend. Chromia smirked.

"Oh, believe me, I've experienced it. You'll meet your mech," she stated. Elita grinned, accustomed to her friend saying this.

"Well, I guess we should keep moving forward, right?" Elita questioned.

"Yep. Time for mid-cycle energon," Chromia agreed. Orion watched the two walk into the kitchen area, following only after Megatron and Soundwave moved. His spark seemed to be slowing in his chassis. He now knew that he would never have a chance with Elita. She wanted the strong, rugged, and battle-scarred type, and Orion… well, he wasn't any of those. Tall, refined, and he knew for a fact that he would _never_ see a battle field. Sure, he'd learn how to handle a weapon and how to fight, but that wouldn't ever be used, seeing as his bodyguard would no doubt be one of the finest warriors on the planet.

He gave a sigh as he leaned back against a wall and watched the two femmes place the four sparklings in separate high seats before preparing bottles. Prowl tapped his chest and twittered questioningly when Pax looked down at him. Orion gave the sparkling a sad smile.

"The sad thing about the life of a prime is that you have no freedom and you never get the girl," he said quietly. Prowl gave a sad chirp and gave the future prime another pat. "You certainly are a smart little mech. When you grow up, I will ensure you have many options."

"Hey, Orion," Elita called before Prowl could reply in any form or fashion. "Time to feed them, so come on over."

Orion forced a smile on his face as he moved to Elita's side. After all, a prime was the face of his planet, and if he was going to be any sort of prime, he would need to learn to hide and control his emotions. Well, no time like the present to start learning.

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><p><strong>CrazyJamaicanLocks: <strong>Glad you liked it! Thanks for the review. :)

**Autobot-Bre:** Meh. Writer's block is something we all have to suffer through sooner or later. I'm just glad I found a coping device! :D

**Vivian Hale:** LOL. I love writing premature Prime. I really do. He's not as self-assured, even though he's really good at pretending he is ;)

**Supergirlprime:** Lol. Prime will certainly learn a few lessons. Whether he will like these lessons or not… well that's to be determined.

**AlexisOptimus:** Glad you like it. :)

**3xX-BOTDF-Xx3:** Lol. I always put Ratchet in charge of them for some reason. I did the same thing in my _Ways to Marry_ ficlet. Glad you enjoyed it. :D

**Crystal Prime:** Thanks for the compliments! Glad to keep ya entertained! :D

**Cairistona:** I love making Sentinel smack Optimus. Maybe because of how out of character it would be, yet totally in character. It's one of those writing paradoxes that I love using! Megatron's fun to write, too. He's like my little cousin. You know those little boy cousins you have that when you piss them off, they'll glare and say something like, "Don't make me kill you!" Young Megatron stricks me as the kind of mech that would say that for some reason or another… XD Hope this chapter makes you smile! =D

**Griffyn:** 0.0 Dadgum! You're a _really_ dedicated reader… Very glad you enjoyed them, and hope you enjoyed this update. :)

**Annebellelennox:** No idea, indeed. Poor mech's gonna be scarred by the time he leaves.

**Random Reader:** Glad you like it! :D Getting into their heads is the best, and looking at their younger years is even better. I figure everybody becomes who they are somehow, and I like being able to choose how they acted before the war. :) So much fun!


	3. Chapter 3

Surprise, surprise! Here's chapter 3! Once again, it's not very long. Next chapter is the last. Enjoy, my friends!

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><p>Part 3<p>

Feeding and naptime

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><p>Orion groaned heavily as he watched Jazz toss his energon-filled sippy-cube across the kitchen area. The cube, made small for little sparkling hands, had a small hole at each upper tip to make it easy for a sparkling to drink it once they were weaned off the bottle. It was also supposed to prevent leaks and spills.<p>

Leave it to Jazz to gnaw on one of the sides until the hole was twice the size it once was.

Now, Orion was forced to play clean-up and fetch-the-cube with Jazz. It was a cycle. Jazz throws cube. Cube hits floor and spills a little. Orion cleans up mess and returns cube to Jazz. Jazz squeals his thanks. Jazz chews on cube to make hole bigger. Jazz takes a small sip of low-grade. Repeat cycle. Really, it wasn't that bad the first few times; however, despite the beliefs the media conjured up in people, Orion did _not_ have an unending supply of patience, and Jazz was beginning to use up what he had left from the cycle's events.

"You know, if you keep giving it back to him, the little sla…" Megatron trailed off at Chromia's look before continuing. "The little cretin will only keep throwing it."

"Well, I cannot just leave it there," Orion countered. "The mechling must refuel."

"Yes, but Megatron's correct," Chromia interjected, sounding dismayed by this fact. Megatron, however, puffed up in a prideful manner. Orion felt a twinge of jealousy when he saw Elita glancing at Megatron's thick chassis. He worked to hide his irritation as he knelt down to retrieve the cube again. He studied Jazz, who was staring at him expectantly, waiting with wide, excited optics for the noble mech to continue their game. Orion glanced around at the little sparks that still needed to be fed. Elita was feeding Starscream, while Megatron and Soundwave fed Thundercracker and Skywarp, seeing as none of the seeklets were yet weaned off the bottle. Chromia was focused on Sunstreaker and Sideswipe, who were intent on stealing the other's energon, even after they had successfully traded sippy-cubes more than once. Prowl was resting in Orion's arms, waiting patiently to receive his own sippy-cube, and Bluestreak was seated in an elevated chair, chattering cheerfully as he waited for a mech or femme to fuel him with his own bottle.

"I do not have time for this," Orion stated, and he set Jazz's cube on the counter behind him. Jazz stared at him with open horror as he walked away. What was the big mech _processing_? They were _obviously_ enjoying a game of throw-and-fetch-the-sippy-cube, a game he and his creators played rather often, and that mech was willing to _walk away_? Why had he left? Was he not having fun? No, Jazz enjoyed the game, so the mechling was certain this "Orion Pax" enjoyed the game as well. Perhaps the mech was glitched. Perhaps he simply did not understand that when one started this game, they did not stop until Jazz was ready to. Either way, Jazz was not pleased. His little faceplates scrunched up in distress, and every bot in the room jumped in surprise when a loud wail that seemed to reach unholy decibels filled the air. Prowl squealed loudly as he covered his audio receptors with his hands.

"Make it stop!" Megatron yelled over the din.

"Command: acknowledged! Complying!" Soundwave shouted back as he strode to Jazz's side. He looked around for the source of the child's displeasure, and his visor lit up when his optics caught sight of the abandoned sippy-cube. He grabbed it and placed it in front of Jazz, who immediately quieted down and after giving a delighted squeal, started gnawing on it.

"Thank Primus!" Megatron breathed. "Orion, you will continue fueling Skywarp while Soundwave entertains the runt."

"Stop calling him that! You're going to give him a complex," Chromia snapped angrily. Megatron rolled his optics.

"Soundwave can continue fueling Skywarp when he is finished, or somebot else can. I need to get some energon into Bluestreak and Prowl first," Orion stated, ignoring his brother's orders. Prowl chirped as he watched Orion prepare his energon expertly with only one arm while he held the sparkling in his other arm.

"Hey! I am the future lord protectorate! I'm the one that makes the battle plans!" Megatron argued. Orion sighed heavily.

"Primus, you are so childish," Orion mumbled. "Maybe you should try acting like Prowl here. He seems to be able to contain himself better than you can," he added as he handed the mentioned sparkling his sippy-cube. Megatron growled and sputtered in the background while the two femmes giggled at the remark, something that made Orion want to grin in success. He restrained himself, though, knowing that showing such pride was not becoming of a future prime. Prowl clicked out his gratitude as he started refueling. Orion gently placed him in an elevated sparkling seat and moved to set up Bluestreak's bottle.

"At least I don't walk around acting like I'm better than every other bot," Megatron countered with a snarl. Orion rolled his optics.

"I fairly certain you do that more than I, Megatron," he replied smoothly.

"Megatron, maybe you should stop before your brother _completely_ verbally destroys you," Chromia broke in.

"What?" Megatron snapped indignantly. "I am in no way destroyed! Orion could _never_ hope to hold up against me in a fight."

"A physical one, perhaps not. I am not trained to attack every mech that crosses my path like some sort of organic animal. In words and intellect, though," Orion smirked as he turned to face his brother, "I believe I have you beat."

"You _slagger_!" Megatron snapped angrily, moving to put Thundercracker down as he advanced on his brother.

"Hey!" Chromia snapped. "Don't make me come over there!"

"Yes. A sparkling care room is no place for a fight, unless, of course, you wish for Killswitch to send you back," Orion stated. Megatron froze and turned back around, knowing that it would be wise to heed that warning. Orion approached Bluestreak, who was watching the exchange with intense curiosity. "Now, let's get you refueled," Orion said with a smile. Bluestreak squealed happily at the sight of the bottle, and he lifted his arms up, wanting to be in Orion's grasp. Orion chuckled as he lifted Bluestreak up and maneuvered him in his arms so that the mechling was resting in his back. Bluestreak made grabbing motions for the bottle as he made little "uh" noises. Orion grinned as he steered the rubber nozzle into Bluestreak's mouthplates.

"You two are so cute," Chromia claimed with a smirk. Orion gave a nervous laugh, feeling his cheek plating heating up.

"I like children. I just never have a chance to deal with them, and when I _do_ deal with them, their femme creator is always around to look over my shoulder," he said sheepishly, wondering if it was unmechly to say so. Megatron snickered, so he was fairly certain it was. He ignored them, though, as he focused on the mechling in his arms.

Bluestreak's doorwings were in constant motion, flicking and fluttering as he sucked down the energon in the bottle. His two hands curled around the hand Orion held the bottle with, and his little blue optics studied Pax's faceplates carefully. Little squeaks and clicks escaped his vocalize as he fueled, as if he didn't want to stay quiet, even if he was drinking. Finally, he pushed the bottle away when there was barely any left, and he curled up in Orion's arms.

"Hm," Elita hummed as she suddenly appeared beside Orion. He jumped in surprise as she noticed her studying him closely, her optics roving from him to the sparkling he held. "Well, you apparently are doing something really right, because Bluestreak _never_ goes into recharge right after a refueling. Very good, Pax. We may just make a sparkling-sitter out of you yet." Orion felt oddly elated by this comment, though he had no desire to pursue such a career. The sound of a sippy-cube banging loudly on a table caught his attention, and Orion turned to see that Prowl was beating his sippy-cube on the counter beside his chair while looking directly at him. In fact, if Orion didn't know any better, he would say that the sparkling looked rather aggravated.

"And just what are you up to?" Orion asked in a teasing voice. Prowl's optics narrowed, and he pointed irritably at Bluestreak. Orion followed his finger and saw that Bluestreak was cuddled up comfortably over his spark. "I'm afraid I don't understand." Orion yelped when somebot smacked the back of his helm, and he turned to glare at his brother, who was giving him a ridiculously innocent look.

"What?" he asked innocently. "A sloppy prime means a sloppy Cybertron, right? Contractions are sloppy."

"Hit me again, and I will order one of my spies to find out all your dirty little secrets," Orion hissed.

"Oh, please," Megatron scoffed. "You don't have any spies under your command."

"His name is Mirage. He can become invisible, and he is about to finish his training as the prime's personal spy… five vorns earlier than a normal mech would. Do not test me," Orion snapped. Megatron scowled and was about to respond when that persistent banging demanded their attention. The two siblings turned to face Prowl, who was now openly glaring at Bluestreak. The looks the sparkling sent Megatron weren't exactly the friendliest looks, either. Once again, Prowl pointed at Bluestreak, his motions jerky and irritated.

"Is he _really_ mad because I'm talking to you?" Megatron asked, sounding particularly unimpressed.

"Apparently so."

"Why? It's not like you're anything special," Megatron snorted. Orion gave him a withering look, then his optics widened when a sippy-cube rebounded off Megatron's faceplates. "You little _maggot!"_

The room went still as every bot turned to look at Megatron, sparklings included, wondering what the word meant. Megatron didn't seem to notice. He was too busy having a glaring contest with the intelligent sparkling. Elita moved to stand beside Orion, the Escape Twins settled over her spark, and Chromia followed her example, though she grimaced with every step. Thundercracker and Skywarp were on her shoulders, claws locked uncomfortably under her armor plates, and Starscream was resting on her helm, his hands wrapped around the raised plating on the sides of her helm.

"Orion, I think you're Prowl's new favorite," Elita said quietly. "Maybe you should focus on him a bit more. He doesn't judge lightly," she added uncertainly. Then she gave a loud gasp. "Sideswipe!" she exclaimed, sounding exasperated. Orion glanced over at the twins to see that Sideswipe had somehow managed to work the top of his sippy-cube off and had promptly poured the contents onto his brother. Sunstreaker squeaked angrily at the red twin, who was completely oblivious to his ire as he rubbed his hands on the yellow twins helm, as if he were bathing him.

"Primus help me," Elita muttered irritably as she moved to a nearby sink. She gently placed the Escape Twins inside and turned on the water, ignoring their protests as she began to wash off the low-grade.

Orion rumbled in amusement as he moved forward with grace, glad for once for those lessons in poise and walking. The flawless steps allowed Bluestreak to stay in recharge. Prowl blinked when Pax stepped in front of Megatron, effectively ending their glaring match, and after carefully shifting Bluestreak to the side, he lifted Prowl up and settled him against his chest plates. He nodded his farewells and left the kitchen area, headed back into the nursery area. He zeroed in on a metal chair and slowly settled down into it, careful not to jostle the two mechlings. Prowl shifted so that he was directly over the large mech's powerful spark and clicked quietly as his systems shut down to recharge. Orion smiled down at him, then looked up to see Chromia placing the three seeklets in a barred berth. Starscream was placed in the middle, and his trine mates were placed on either side of him. The two immediately cuddled close to him, giving small squeaks and chirps as they shut down.

His optics then turned to Elita, who was now striding back and forth with the newly cleaned twins in her arms, cooing at them as she tried to get them to fall into recharge. The two sparklings were wrapped up in white towels to keep them separated from Elita's chassis, which was still lightly coated in their spilt energon. Sunstreaker had cooperated and fallen easily into recharge, but Sideswipe was looking around with no small amount of excitement. What he found so exciting, nobot really knew, but Orion had a feeling the little mech wouldn't be shutting down anytime soon.

Then his optics turned to Jazz. Jazz was being… difficult. Soundwave was walking around stiffly with the mechling in his arms, obviously trying to follow Elita's example. However, his vocal processor kept producing monotone coos that seemed to be thoroughly freaking the sparkling out. Jazz simply stared up at the large cassette deck with huge, terrified optics, and every time Soundwave would turn, the mechling would release a loud squeak of surprise.

"Primus bless," Chromia muttered irritably. She stalked over to Soundwave's side and snatched the sparkling from his hands. She cradled Jazz in the crook on her arm as she pulled a short strip of rubber from her subspace. She handed the rubber to Jazz, who squealed joyfully as he grabbed it from her.

"Bah-buh-lah-wuh!" Jazz chattered.

"I'm sure it is," Chromia replied as she moved to a crib.

"Muh?"

"Yup. Muh."

"Muh!" Jazz squealed cheerfully, then he stuffed the piece of rubber in his mouth and started chewing.

"Well, at least nobody can say that he's boring or antisocial," Elita said optimistically.

"Nope. I don't know whether I'd want to deal with him after his sparklinghood, though. Could you imagine how annoying he's gonna be when he grows up?" Chromia replied with an affectionate grin.

"I bet everybot will absolutely adore him," Elita shot back in a teasing voice.

"That's what I'm afraid of. I bet he'll be so full of himself," Chromia said in a lofty voice. The two femmes snickered at this. "Honestly, though, I doubt we'll ever meet him again after he gets his next frame."

"Of course not. And anyways, what would we say? 'Oh! You're Jazz! I used to feed you, and you chewed on my tire!' Please," Elita claimed.

"Well, we have a higher chance than Orion," Chromia said on a shrug as she placed Jazz on his back in the crib. She knew from experience that Jazz never slept on his stomach, and if he was placed on his stomach to recharge, he would start screaming almost immediately. Orion looked up when his designation was mentioned and found that the two femmes in the room were giving him sad, pitying looks.

"Yeah. Chances of the prime ever seeing one of these sparklings again is almost impossible. He'll be too busy," Elita agreed. Orion smiled.

"That is okay. In the end, as long as I can ensure that they are safe and cared for, I will be happy," Orion promised them.

"Do you think you'll ever see us again?" Chromia asked hesitantly. Orion shook his helm.

"Even the chances of seeing my brother anytime soon after this meeting are slim. As a prime in training, I do not have much time for socializing unless it is specifically placed in my schedule, and at that, it is with dignitaries of some sort. The same applies for Megatron. We still have a lot to learn before we are ready to lead," Orion explained. Elita frowned at his tone of voice. There was no sadness there, no disappointment at missing the things he was missing. He was simply stating a fact, reciting something he had been told time and time again.

"Aren't you… upset by this? Sad to know that you won't have time for friends?" she asked hesitantly, worried that she may offend him by asking. Orion only gave a sad smile.

"In a few more vorns, I will not be Orion Pax anymore, but Optimus Prime, and as a prime, my duty is to my planet, then to myself. The needs of the many out-weight the needs of the few, and in this case, Cybertron's safety and political strength is far more important than my social life," Orion stated frankly. "Besides, I will still have friends amongst other dignitaries and leaders of other city-states. Such relationships are beneficial to a mech such as I."

"Oh… I see…" Elita said slowly. She looked down at her arms and smiled when she saw that Sideswipe had fallen asleep sometime during Orion's long explanation. Apparently, Orion's voice had a very calming effect on the sparklings. She placed the two of them in a berth, watching as they cuddled together. She then peered over at Orion, who was watching the two doorwingers on his chest with a soft look. She decided that life for this prime would be different than the primes before him. He needed friends. She thought back to when he had single-handed talked down Megatron. He was so smart and so witty, and his looks weren't exactly something to balk at, either. He was tall and refined, and he moved with a grace that would take her years to achieve.

It was at that moment that she decided that she wanted Orion Pax to be her sparkmate. He was great with sparklings. He was kind and caring. He treated others with respect. He was everything she wanted.

Now she just had to figure out how to get him to want her back. As she moved back into the kitchen to wash off the energon, she began planning out her future, one that included a bonding ceremony, a certain future prime, and at least three sparklings.

* * *

><p><strong>Optimus' girl:<strong> D: Sorry to make you wait! This fic doesn't come to me as easily as others do. -_- I love writing sparkling fluff like this. It's interesting to look at the canon mechs and think, 'Okay, what would Jazz do that would make sense and yet still be funny?' It's so much fun to write, and I'm glad my readers enjoy it, even if the updates are rather sparse.

**Autobot-Bre:** Thanks for the review. Glad the little ones make ya smile :)

**Amai Seishin-Hime: **Glad you liked it! Hoped you liked the update :D

**Luna Prime-Awesomeness:** Sorry that the update was late. Hope it's up to standards. The last one should be coming pretty soon.

**Supergirlprime:** Neh. The younglings handled it rather well. A bit of trouble from the trouble-makers, but all-in-all, it could've been worse ;)

**Angel897:** Glad you like it. :)

**AlexisOptimus:** Yeah. 'Hide was pretty awesome, but you gotta remember that in this ficlet, he has to spend a lot of time with Megatron, and he's only seen little Orion at functions that both the future prime and the current protectorate have to attend, so he doesn't have a lot of time to mess with Orion yet. And Megatron just annoys him.

**Vivian Hale:** Jazz was my favorite to write, but I had fun coming up with all the idiosyncrasies of the sparklings. Stuff that would make sense, but were still hilarious. Starscream obsessing with feet was my personal favorite, but I loved Jazz's attempt to And hopefully this chapter kind of helps you understand why Orion doesn't think he has a chance. :( Poor mech. It's okay, though. Elita's the Unstoppable Force. :D

**D-RockXIronhideForever:** Lol. Optimus always struck me as the type that would be awkward when he was young, while Megatron always struck me as being the exact opposite. And guess what? You'll get to see Ironhide _again_ next chapter. He's picking up Chromia =D I'm very glad you liked all my characterizations. My biggest pet peeve is for the canon characters to be OOC, and writing them at this age makes it kind of difficult. It was still fun, though. :)

**Iceshadow911274:** =D I have finally memorized your username, so I don't have to look back and forth to type it out in the replies! :D Happy day. ^-^ Lol. The idiosyncrasies were so much fun to come up with. I always saw Jazz as the type to chew on everything when he was sparkling. And Soundwave… well, he was still learning to hide his emotions at this stage in his life. Glad you liked it. :)

**Melody:** Lol. If they could speak, perhaps they would. :) Unfortunately, their vocal processors aren't that well developed. Jazz is able to exercise his a bit better than the others, but overall, they don't really know how to use them. :)

**Mrs. Knockout:** XD Glad you like it! The idiosyncrasies were really fun to decide. =D I had to think about what would make sense, but be funny at the same time. XD

**StarBlazer Luvs Sweets12:** Glad you like it. :) Orion is sweet. XD I've had fun writing him.

**Kellie Witwicky:** Nope. These are the only ones. It's more of a high-end orn-care. I mean, Ratchet is a politician, Jetfire is the Vosian liaison, ect. It's not filled for that reason. Plus, I didn't want to add anyone else. :) Too much effort for a side story. Lol. And yeah. Bet Megatron holds it over his head. Unless he forgot… XD

**King Sabre Tooth:** Glad you like it :D

**The bookfan09:** :) Glad you like it! I had fun coming up with their personalities. Hope you enjoyed the update. :D

**Luna Uchiha666: **Glad you like it. :D Poor Orion's having an interesting time, huh? ON the bright side, he will certainly use this experience for future reference. Hopefully. After all, Sentinel _did_ say that commanding an army was like working at a daycare. XD


	4. Chapter 4

In case you're wondering, Orion feels like he's being watched because Elita keeps staring at him when he isn't looking. :)

Last one! The end has come! D:

* * *

><p>Part 4<p>

Going Home

* * *

><p>Orion couldn't shake the feeling of being watched as he held the two snoozing doorwingers over his spark. Prowl had somehow managed to move Orion's middle finger into his mouth while recharging and had whined when Orion had attempted to remove it. So, not wanting to wake the sparkling, Orion had simply allowed the black and white sparkling to suck on his finger while he slept. Bluestreak, on the other hand, had curled into Orion's chest and kept clicking and chirping in his recharge, something that amused the future prime to no end. Still he sensed that somebot was watching him. However, anytime he would glance up, he would see that none of the other caretaking younglings were watching him. Soundwave and Megatron were seated on the floor, facing each other as they played some sort of strategy game. Chromia and Elita were talking about something. What they were talking about, Orion couldn't say nor did he really care. He was more focused on the two sparklings in his hands.<p>

Prowl gave a quiet squeak, kicking a ped as he onlined. Little blue optics flashed on dimly and focused on Orion's faceplates. The sparkling offered a small smile before snuggling in closer to his spark. Said spark thrummed a bit louder with affection. There was no denying it anymore. Orion wanted a sparkling, andhe wanted it to act _just like_ Prowl. He loved the feeling this sparkling gave him. He felt needed, wanted… loved. It had never occurred to Orion, but he never really _had_ felt loved. Sentinel cared for him and trained him, but… that was where it ended. There was no creator/creation love there, only business-like care. He liked this feeling, though, even if it was from a sparkling that he probably would never meet again.

Bluestreak twittered quietly as he, too, started activating his online protocols. Doorwings fluttered as excited blue optics looked up at Orion. Bluestreak gave him an open-mouthed smile and proceeded to tell the future prime in extreme detail just how great his recharge was.

"Bah-buh-wuh!" Jazz, never one to be left out of a conversation, squeaked from his crib. Elita grinned as she rose to her pedes and trotted over to Jazz's crib. Jazz gave an excited squeal as Elita lifted him up. He had had his recharge, and now he was ready to go. Jazz's squeal, however, woke every other sparkling in the room, and not all of them were happy with this fact. Starscream's red optics onlined, and he immediately let out an audio-piercing wail to inform the world of his displeasure. Thundercracker and Skywarp both squeaked in surprise before joining their trine leader. Sunstreaker and Sideswipe jolted at the noise and pressed their faces against the bars of their crib, peering over at the three wailing seeklets.

"Soundwave, silence those things!" Megatron ordered, pressing his hands to his audio receptors. Soundwave, however, was too busy trying to protect his ultra sensitive receptors. Megatron scowled when he saw that he was being ignored, and he rose to his pedes before stomping over to the seekers' crib. "Silence!" he roared.

That did the trick. Starscream broke off with a shocked squeak, and his watery optics locked on Megatron. He sniffled once, vents hitching as he calmed down and held his arms out to Megatron in a silent plea to be lifted up. Megatron glared at the little mech for a few astroseconds before giving an exasperated sigh and lifting him to his chest. Orion blinked in surprise at his brother's actions. Huh. Maybe the slagger wasn't actually a sparkless monster. He continued watching as his younger brother placed the three trine mates on his wings. Strange. The regal mech's attention was grabbed by a small tapping on his chest. Orion looked down and saw that Prowl was tapping idly on my chest as he looked at Megatron. Well, as he _glared_ at Megatron. Orion smiled at the mech before rising from the chair, eliciting an excited whistle from Bluestreak, who was more than happy to be tall again.

"Well, the silence was nice while it lasted," Chromia noted as she lifted the twins from their crib. Sunstreaker squeaked as he settled down in her grasp, more than ready to return to his recharge, which had been rudely interrupted by that squalling seeker. Sadly, though, Sideswipe was awake, and when Sideswipe was awake, Sideswipe wanted everybot else to be awake, too. The red twin squealed and twittered loudly, excitedly prodding his twin as he looked around at the other beings in the room. Sunstreaker whined irritably, pointedly snuggling into Chromia's chest. Sideswipe whined back, tapping his brother insistently.

"Chromia, why don't we trade off sparklings?" Orion offered as he observed Sunstreaker in his escalating irritation. "Prowl is still rather tired, yet Bluestreak is wide awake."

"I can see your point," Chromia noted as she moved toward the future prime. "Here, take Sideswipe. I'll take Prowl."

"Right," Orion replied. He moved Bluestreak into the crook of his arm before carefully lifting Sideswipe in his free hand, holding him against his chest. However, Prowl did not agree with this arrangement. He squeaked in outrage as Chromia attempted to lift him from Orion's other arm. "Chromia, Chromia! Stop!" Orion exclaimed when he felt Prowl reach past one of the armor plates on his chest, gripping firmly on a bundle of wires there.

"What—"

"He grabbed some of my wires," Orion said.

"He did _what_?" Elita questioned as she moved to his side. Orion felt his internal temperature rise when she leaned forward to study the sparkling's grip. Prowl's hand was hidden under the armor, and Orion would have to remove that piece of armor to see what was being grabbed. Orion _really_ didn't want to do that. "Wow, Orion. He really likes you…"

"Mine!" Prowl squeaked angrily, glaring at the two femmes that wanted to take him away. The three younglings looked down at him in surprise.

"He can talk?" Orion asked in surprise.

"He hasn't ever spoken to us before…" Elita replied, optic ridges furrowed in confusion.

"Opi! Mine!" Prowl repeated fiercely. At this point, Soundwave and Megatron moved to the mech's side.

"He thinks you're his opiluk?" Megatron asked, a bemused frown on his faceplates. "You can't keep him, Orion."

"I know _that,_ Megatron," Orion replied with a scowl. "Chromia, why don't you take Bluestreak, and I'll take Sunstreaker."

"Of course," Chromia agreed. "C'mere, Sides," she cooed as she lifted him back into her arms. The sparkling immediately went back to pestering his brother, who squeak in anger as him. Chromia rolled her optics and decided to simply let the little mechling free. The second she set Sideswipe down on the ground, he made a beeline to the toy box settled against a wall. She stood and gently lifted Bluestreak into her arms before transferring Sunstreaker over to Orion's. As she walked toward the toy box, the golden sparkling chirped in fatigue and cuddled into Orion's plating before dropping back into recharge. Prowl retained his hold on Orion's wires until the tall mech returned to his chair. With his spot guaranteed, he retracted his hand and snuggled into the heat Orion's frame gave off.

"Quite the cuddle mech, aren't you?" Elita teased. Orion chuckled, completely unaware of how that sound made shivers go down her spinal strut.

"I think it's because I'm warm," he admitted. "I have a big spark, so my frame stays warm."

"I bet you do," Elita mumbled, blushing. Orion frowned, cocking his helm to the side in an adorable manner.

"What?" he asked, not hearing what Elita had said.

"Nothing!" she said quickly.

"Gah-bah-wuh!" Jazz squeaked, wanting attention to be focused on him.

"Really?" Elita replied with a grin as she looked down at the mechling in her arms.

"Gab-ee-wuh-nuh! Bab-buh-nuh!" Jazz informed her, giving her an open-mouthed smile.

"I totally agree," Elita stated. Jazz squealed happily. Obviously, her concurrence was what he had been hoping for.

"He is a rather hyper mech," Orion commented, glancing down at the two sparklings in his arms.

"Just you wait. I bet he'll be the composed one in the future. Sideswipe'll be calm and quiet, Prowl will be a wild party-mech, and Sunstreaker will have multiple femmes chasing him, but he'll be too busy helping everyone else with their problems to chase back," Elita prophesied with a haughty, yet teasing grin.

"So Sideswipe will be a data clerk, Jazz will be a corporate leader, Prowl will be too irresponsible to hold a job, and Sunstreaker will be a therapist," Orion surmised with a snort. "I can see it now… And what will you be, Elita?" Elita blushed at the question, secretly delighted that he asked a question about her dreams.

"I wish to be a teacher. I wish to teach younglings before they go to their respective castes," she admitted with a shy smile, as if Orion would tease her. Instead, he did the exact opposite. He gave her a gentle smile.

"You will do well. I have seen you interact with these sparklings, and I believe you have a lot to bring to that career field. Perhaps I can speak with that caste delegate… Maybe pull some strings to make your training cheaper and quicker," Orion replied.

"You would do that?" she asked, with wide, excited optics. Orion's smile grew.

"Of course. Our young are our future. They deserve to have the best teaching them," he claimed, blushing a bit as he gave the compliment. Elita's pink cheeks were nearly completely purple thanks to the blue tint of her blush.

"And what about your dreams? Have you ever wanted to be anything other than a prime?" she questioned. His smile faded, and his face turned a bit somber. He snapped his facemask over his mouth instinctively. It was a habit he had formed when he first started learning to control his face to hide his emotions. His optics gained a strange glint, like he was hiding something, and Elita knew that she shouldn't have asked that question.

"I am to be a prime, and a prime does not pine after what could be or what could have been. A prime has many duties in life, and without a prime, Cybertron would fail. It is my duty to focus solely on my studies and work to become the proper voice of the people. There is no time to brood or hold onto… things that will never be. I am a prime, and that is all that I ever will… or ever could be."

It sounded so rehearsed, as if Orion had brought up wanting to do something before only to be shot down. His optics, though blank, still held traces of sadness and insecurity. Elita frowned, optics growing wet for the mech that probably wasn't allowed to cry.

"You have no freedom," she whispered in sympathy.

"A sacrifice I am willing to give for my people, as every prime before me has," Orion said.

"But it's not fair! You didn't ask for this!" Elita argued.

"Bah-wuh?" Jazz squeaked, but he was ignored. He blinked up at the distressed femme and decided to be quiet for a few kliks, cuddling into her chest and clicking at her softly.

"Fate rarely calls upon us at a time of our choosing. Not all have the… luck, I suppose, to choose their life. Elita, people need me to be completely focused on their problems. If I am busy with a hobby, I will not get anything done, and the people will suffer for it."

"So you don't have any fun, any free-time at all?" she demanded with a scowl. Orion shook his helm in disagreement.

"I am allowed free-time. I spend it in the library, or I go out to Iacon. I enjoy walking the Iaconian Market in Iacon Square," Orion stated. Elita waited for him to continue. When he didn't, she gave an irritable "What else?"

"Well… I… I enjoy reading…" he continued, grasping for straws at this point. The truth was, Sentinel's library mainly held history and science books, and Orion preferred fiction since history and science was what he had to read all solar cycle long during his lessons. "I spar sometimes…"

"And what else?" she prodded. Orion looked away awkwardly.

"I don't get _that_ much free-time," he mumbled, embarrassed by his social life, or lack thereof.

"He has a scheduled recharge time, too," Megatron volunteered from across the room. Orion's cheeks burned in embarrassment, and resentment rose in his spark as he glared at his brother. Megatron smirked at him.

"I fail to see how that is relevant, seeing as it is something I myself cannot change. Sentinel Prime believes that in order for a mech to be at his best, he should be properly rested. I doubt Killswitch has differing beliefs. Perhaps that is something I should bring up to him in our next conversation at the Meeting Hall," Orion snapped. Megatron's smirk dropped into a scowl.

"You wouldn't dare," he snarled. Orion's optics narrowed at the obvious challenge.

"I do not think this is a good time to try my temper. Believe me, I have no reason to hesitate in bringing up such a thing. I would suggest you mind your own business instead of attempting to nose your way into mine, brother," he remarked, voice still calm and even. Megatron huffed angrily, but turned his attention back to the seeklets who were wrestling in front of where he sat.

"It's nothing to be embarrassed about," Elita said immediately.

"My embarrassment is inconsequential. The issue here is that my younger brother is an uncouth ruffian who lacks the finesse, discernment, and communication skills his mentor has. If he wishes to lead anything more intelligent than a energon cube, he needs to learn when to speak and when to keep that loud mouth of his closed." Elita blinked at him.

"Did you know that your words get longer when you're mad?" she asked randomly. Orion blinked back at her, thrown off by her question.

"I had not noticed…" he replied hesitantly.

"Well, they do, and—" She was cut off by Sideswipe's excited squeal. She turned to see the little red mech speed crawling toward the door, where a mech with a tasteful white paintjob with gold accents was standing. The tall mech had blue optics, labeling him as a part of the politician and science caste. "Good joor, Liaison Ratchet," Elita greeted. Orion's optics widened as he stood out of respect.

"Well, well, well. Fancy meeting the future prime here," Ratchet commented as he studied the lanky mech. "And watching my adopted little Pit-spawns, too!"

"A pleasure to see you, Liaison Ratchet, despite how odd the circumstance," Orion said as he approached the partitioned door. Sideswipe was pawing at the door near our pedes, chirping excitedly at the white and gold mech. Elita bent down and lifted him up, and the second she was standing, Sideswipe launched himself at the Liaison, who caught him expertly and held him to his chest. Sideswipe bounced happily as he twittered to the older mech, who chirped back at him.

"None of that slag. We both know you barely know who I am. Slag, you probably won't see me again until you take the primeship," Ratchet remarked with a wry grin. He glanced down at the sparklings Orion held, then did a double-take. "How the slag did you keep Sunstreaker offline? He's only been offline for a few kliks, right?"

"Nope. Orion here seems to have a calming effect on them. With him talking, both of them conked out pretty quickly. Then, when Sunny woke back up, we handed him over to Orion, and he went right back into recharge," Elita stated happily.

"Really? Perhaps you should work here more often… Why _are _you here?" Ratchet questioned as he took Sunstreaker into his arms. Sideswipe squeaked and started prodding his brother almost immediately. Sunstreaker grumbled wordlessly before onlining his optics and giving his twin a dark glare. Sideswipe was unfazed by this and continued harassing the poor sparkling.

"I made a remark to Sentinel without processing. This was supposed to be punishment," Orion explained. Ratchet nodded in understanding.

"I see. Well, I shall see you in a few vorns. Happiness and success to you, my future prime," Ratchet said, before turning and leaving. Prowl squeaked happily as he scooted over, settling himself directly over Orion's spark.

"Mine," he claimed happily as he snuggled in. Orion looked down at him, allowing his mask to slide back as he gave the sparkling an amused smile.

"I'm afraid I am not your opiluk, Prowl," he stated. Prowl squeaked in disagreement.

"Opi. Mine," he asserted. Orion chuckled as he lifted the sparkling until they were face-to-face and nuzzled his nose against Prowl's. The sparkling gave a delighted giggle and hugged Orion's face. "Mine!" he practically sang. Orion rolled his optics and moved Prowl back to his chest.

"You know, if you talk to Hound and the higher ups, I bet they'd let you adopt him," Chromia said off-handedly as Orion and Elita made their way to where she sat with Bluestreak.

"I don't understand," Orion replied with a frown.

"Hound is a foster parent who can form temporary bonds," Elita explained as they both sat down across from Chromia and Bluestreak. Orion's optics widened in surprise. It was rare to find a bot that could form temporary long-term bonds, and almost every one of them was automatically transferred to the child-rearing caste with teachers and trainers to care for sparklings whose creators offlined for any reason. "Prowl was found in a lab, and Hound took him in when the medical caste finished his check-up. Jazz was found wandering the streets of lower Iacon," Elita explained, setting down the sparkling, who immediately scampered over to Bluestreak. Bluestreak gave Jazz a happy chirp before moving some of the pieces to his small puzzle over to the silver mechling. Orion placed Prowl on the ground, only to receive a look from the sparkling that told Orion that Prowl did not find this movement desirable. Instead, he crawled over to the future prime's leg and flopped onto it before giving Orion a look that said, "What the slag are you waiting for? Pick me up!"

"So his creators were missing?" Orion questioned as he lifted Prowl into his lap, situating him so that he faced the conversation, back resting against the larger mech's stomach plating.

"Offlined," Chromia corrected.

"I see," Orion said grimly, hating that sparklings were orphaned like that. He at least knew his creators before being whisked away to start his training. He hummed as he suddenly wondered how they were. He hadn't been able to visit them in a while due to his own duties and the fact that they lived all the way in Tarn. He held a small mentor/student bond with Sentinel, but it wasn't the same.

"Excuse me, but I'm here for the future Royal Command Trine of Vos," a deep, aged voice stated from the door. Orion twisted and was surprised to see a seeker that was old enough to be his grandcreator.

"Finally!" Megatron griped as he rose to his pedes, three seeklets on his wings. He stomped over to the door and handed the sparklings over one by one to the old mech, who placed every one of them on his wings. "Little monsters are fraggin annoying," he grumbled. The old mech laughed at the future protectorate.

"Just remember that you will be working hand-in-hand with Starscream in the future. The Vosian prince often coordinates with the Defense Force for aerial aid," the mech stated.

"Well stated, Jetfire," another deep voice interjected.

"Lord Protector Killswitch!" Jetfire greeted with a sharp salute. The other mech chuckled.

"No need for the formalities, old friend. I am simply here to pick up my ward and his guard-in-training," Killswitch stated. In all honesty, if one met Killswitch, they likely wouldn't believe him to be the leader of a fierce and feared army. The black mech was tall and lanky with only the slightest bulk to his chest plates. He had an easy smile, which he loved to use around femmes, and he had an easy-going personality.

"Finally! Do you have any idea what I have been forced to deal with?" Megatron demanded.

"No, but I'm sure you will tell me _all_ about it," Killswitch replied with a grin. Megatron grumbled irritably as he stalked through the door, Soundwave following behind him silently. As they passed him, Killswitch suddenly sent a fist towards Megatron's helm, only for it to be stopped by Soundwave. "Very good, Soundwave. You've gotten better," Killswitch praised as he reclaimed his wrist from the smaller mech. His gaze returned to the room. "Orion Pax. What's a mech like you doing here?"

"I told Sentinel that if running Cybertron was like running an orncare, it would be easy. He told me that I could not judge something I had not experienced. Ergo, he made me work here for the cycle," Orion said evenly.

"I'm sorry you had to deal with Megatron," the protectorate stated with an apologetic smile.

"Hey!" Megatron snapped, but was ignored.

"It was no problem. It is good training or the mechs I will have to deal with later," Orion replied honestly. Killswitch snorted and grinned.

"I truly love our conversations," Killswitch said as he turned away, followed by two younglings and an elder seeker. "See you later, Optimus."

"Goodbye, Killswitch," Orion called back, pointedly ignoring the use of his future designation. Chromia and Elita stared at him with wide optics.

"Are you really that familiar with the lord protectorate?" Chromia asked. Orion shrugged.

"We cross paths. I believe he has made it his goal to make me… I believe the term is 'loosen up,'" Orion remarked.

"Ah. I think I know what he means. Oh! Hello, Nightbeat!" Elita called, lifting Bluestreak as she rose to her pedes. The little mech twittered excitedly as they approached the door.

"Thanks, Elita," Nightbeat said as he lifted the chattering sparkling into his hands. Without another word, he left.

"I always found it funny that a mech so quiet takes care of a mechling that knows no silence," Chromia claimed as she watched her friend approach.

"Tell me about it," Elita replied with a grin as she plopped back down.

"Ironhide!" Chromia exclaimed on a gasp. She leapt to her pedes and dashed to the door. Ironhide opened the door as she approached and easily caught her in his arms as she leapt into them. The Ironhide took the time to kiss her soundly before setting her back down.

"Ready to go? You're parents await your return," he purred. Chromia nodded happily.

"See ya, Elita! Nice to meet you, Orion!" she called. Ironhide grunted as he looked over at Orion.

"Prime," the black mech said in greeting and farewell.

"Bye, Chromia. Bye, Ironhide," Elita called back as the black mech closed the door and left with his betrothed.

"And then there were two," Orion mumbled. Jazz, having finished his puzzle, moved to Elita and plopped onto her lap.

"Hello to you, too," she said to the mechling. Jazz chirped at her and started chewing on her fingers. "It was nice meeting you, Orion," Elita started, feeling bashful at the statement.

"You, as well. I didn't think this would be so much fun," Orion confessed. Elita grinned.

"I didn't expect the future prime to be so interesting and fun to be around," she replied.

"Hey, Elita, I'm here for my two mechlings," an accented voice called from the door. Orion turned to see a forest green mech standing at the door. The two younglings stood and approached the door and surprised mech, each with a sparkling in hand. "Orion Pax! It's an honor!" the mech exclaimed as he claimed Jazz from Elita. "I'm Hound."

"It is a pleasure to meet you," Orion replied evenly as he attempted to hand Prowl over. The white and black sparkling whined, holding firmly to Orion's hand.

"Noooo…" he whined. "Mine." He sniffled overdramatically. Orion smiled down at the mech.

"No leaking, my mech. I will see you again. You must work hard so that we can prove that you are the perfect candidate for a high-class job. Be a good mech, and I know we will meet again," the regal mech promised. Prowl stared into his optics, and the intelligent sparkling saved those words in his processor, filing it carefully with the rest of this day. Maybe if he was a very good mechling, did his very best, and followed all the rules perfectly… maybe he could be adopted by this mech. Prowl hugged Orion's hand one more time before allowing himself to be handed to his caretaker.

"Thank you, Orion Pax. Until we meet again," Hound said in farewell.

"Gah-bah!" Jazz said in farewell as Hound walked away. Orion smiled as he turned to face Elita.

"I guess it's just us now—" He was cut off by Elita's lip components on his. His spark sped up, and his cooling fans flicked on. Elita broke off the kiss and stared into Orion's dazed optics.

"I love you, and after you become prime, we _will_ bond," Elita stated with finality. Orion didn't have the processor power at the moment to inform her that he probably wouldn't ever come in contact with her again. His processor kept replaying the last few astroseconds over and over again.

"Orion? I have come to retrieve you for your next lessons," Sentinel Prime's voice stated from the door. Orion turned hazy optics on his mentor before moving to the door robotically.

"Orion," Elita called in a flirty voice. Orion paused to look at her, and he didn't miss the way she glanced at Sentinel before looking back at him. "I'll see ya around," she cooed, giving him a small finger wave. A goofy grin split across his face, and he nodded dumbly.

"Oh, Primus bless," Sentinel groaned. He opened the door and grabbed his ward's shoulder, leading him away from the room and consequently the femme that had muddled his processors.

"She said she loved me," he told his mentor happily.

"Great," Sentinel mumbled. "Remind me to talk to you about femmes and relationships when we get back to Iacon Hall. I was hoping we could put this off for a few vorns."

"She said she loved me," Orion repeated dumbly.

"Yes, and we will not be having sparklings running around Iacon Hall until you are about seventeen vorns older," Sentinel grumped, not looking forward to this talk.

"Sentinel?" Orion asked, looking up at his mentor with a smile.

"What?" Sentinel grunted.

"Can I go back tomorrow?"

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><p><strong>AlexisOptimus:<strong> It's no problem. I do the same thing with other writers. There are some things that you want to see in a story, so you suggest them. It's no problem. In fact, most authors on Fanfic love that because it makes things easier for them. Me? Personally, I usually say no for one of two reasons: either it wouldn't fit logically into my plot (my plots are very specific and it is very rare that I throw something in there that doesn't somehow contribute to something specific in the plot) or because it would give me too much to work off of. In the real world, I won't have suggestions, so if someone gives me one, then I usually reject them because it's help that I need to learn to write without. Ya know? So nothing personal, and it's no problem. In fact, sometimes, I use people's suggestions for other fics if it fits.:)

Elita's always struck me as the one that made all the moves. :) Bet you loved the fluff in this one XD

**Mrs. Knockout:** XD I hadn't thought of that! It's tempting to put that in one of my fic, but then it would make it necessary for the readers to read this ficlet to understand :\ It made me giggle, though. :D

**Luna Prime-Awesomeness:** Lol. Not quite love at first sight, but close enough ;)

**Angel897:** Glad you liked it :)

**CyberKia:** A month later, but it's finally here! :D

**Iceshadow911247:** XD I should have had Jazz throwing his sippy cup at other sparklings… No, I should've had Sideswipe do that… XD

**Thebookfan09:** I love making Optimus/Orion give those verbal slaps. He seems the type that would fight very well with words. I mean, he's pretty had-core with an energon sword, too, but still… :D Yeah, Orion doesn't think they'll meet again, but he hasn't dealt with many femmes in his life. He's gonna find out that what Elita wants, Elita gets. *nod nod*

**Guest that is Optimus' girl:** Lol. Orion's good with kids. Megsy hasn't really dealt with them before. Oh! Slight miscommunication. Jetfire isn't their creator. He's more of a nanny, really. Jetfire isn't royalty, but the leaders of Vos are visiting, and they are too busy to pick them up. :) I'm very glad you like it, and I hope you enjoyed the conclusion. :)

**D-RockxIronhideForever: **Lol. Jazz always loved to talk. He had to let his opinion be known. Always. Teehee. Orion is too nice for his own good, fetching Jazz's cube. Silly. So you're obsessed because he keeps dying? You realize he blew up a planet, right? (Kaiba-5) XD

**Lunar Radioactive:** Glad you like it! It's fun to write. ^-^

**Exactlywhat:** Teehee. Kids in general are cute. Especially when they're younger versions of the Autobots and Decepticons. ^-^ Yes, I did plan that. :D I hate it when people mess up that dialogue (People think Megatron called Jazz a creeper instead of a cretin.) Strange, right?

**Leonixon:** :D Well, if you die, death by cuteness is definitely the way to go. *nod nod* Me and my brother have those verbal matches, too. I win more often. :D

**Vivian Hale:** Lol. Jazz and his gibberish. He likes hearing himself talk. Silly mechlet. Every time I write about Prime's life and what he is to expect for his future, I feel super bad. In all honesty, if not for the war, Optimus would have no friends. Prime, you should thank your brother!

**Autobot-Bre:** XD Love the sparkling fluff! X3

**Trapezoidal:** I love writing ironic foreshadowing! It's so much fun, and it's so ironic! I feel bad for Orion, too. :( Poor mech doesn't have a very bright future. Funny that all his friends were gained from the war. :D Something good _did_ come from it!

**Kellie Witwicky:** XD Aren't we all. I friggin love children. Yeah, Prime and Megs have never really seen optic-to-optic, but I think all siblings are this way. They just weren't around each other enough to have enough good times (play wrestling, carefree teasing, and other brotherly bonding things) to counter the bad (verbal beat-downs, arguments, differing views, jealousy). :\

**Amai Seishin-Hime:** Lol. Elita is a very determined femme. Poor Orion didn't even know what hit him! XD I feel kinda bad for poor Soundwave. To have an emotionless voice and have sparklings cry when they hear you. :'( Poor guy DX

**StarBlazer Luvs Sweets12:** I always have fun writing this stuff. If I giggle when I reread it, I know ya'll like it, too, cuz I'm a very tough critic. *nod nod*

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><p>Can't believe it's over! D':<p> 


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